“Like the hired hand” / “Como gente asalariada”

  A shepherd and his flock. Pixabay image by Quangpraha (Vietnam)
Un pastor con su rebaño - Imagen de Pixabaypor Quangpraha (Vietnam)

A reflection/confession based on John 10:11-18 / Una reflexión/confesión basada en Juan 10:11-18

by/por Magdalena I. García

We attend church and follow the rules,

sing in the choir and go to Sunday School.

We lead workshops and attends seminars,

serve on the boards and organize bazaars.

We go to meetings and watch the clock,

give our offering and monitor the stocks.

We do a lot of good work
in our cherished congregation,
but none of that can take the place
of the good news of liberation.

If we foster a culture that exalts

judgement instead of acceptance,
charity instead of justice,
and control instead of compassion,
then we are betraying
the calling of the church
and behaving like the hired hand.

Forgive us, Good Shepherd,

for our foolishness,

forgetting that you ask us

to risk even our lives
to care for your beloved flock.

 
Teach us, Good Shepherd,
to embrace and protect
all of your sheep equally,
regardless of whether they are
white, black, colored or striped.

And remind us, Good Shepherd,
that you are the God of creation,
that your love is wide and bold
and it covers even sheep
hanging out in another fold.

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Asistimos a la iglesia y tenemos buena moral,
participamos en el coro y en la escuela dominical.
Lideramos talleres y asistimos a conferencias,
servimos en las juntas y organizamos ventas.
Administramos el tiempo y vamos a las reuniones,
damos nuestra ofrenda y vigilamos las inversiones.

Hacemos un gran trabajo
en nuestra adorada congregación,
pero nada de eso puede tomar el lugar
de las buenas nuevas de liberación.

Si albergamos una cultura que exalta
el juicio en vez de la aceptación,
la caridad en vez de la justicia
y el control en vez de la compasión,
entonces estamos traicionando
el llamado de la iglesia
y comportándonos como gente asalariada.

Perdónanos, Buen Pastor,

por nuestra insensatez,

al olvidar que tú nos pides
que arriesguemos incluso nuestra vida

para cuidar de tu amado rebaño.

Enséñanos, Buen Pastor,
a acoger y proteger
a todas tus ovejas por igual,
sin importar que sean
blancas, negras, coloridas o rayadas.

Y recuérdanos, Buen Pastor,
que tú eres el Dios de la Creación,
que tu amor es ancho y atrevido
y cubre incluso a otras ovejas
que a nuestro redil no han venido.

© Magdalena I. García

“They did not recognize him” / “No lo reconocieron”

Budding magnolia in my neighborhood. / Botón de magnolia en mi barrio.

A post Easter confession based on Luke 24:13-17

by Magdalena I. García

They were talking about the past

and did not recognize you,
Living Jesus.

They were looking back

and did not recognize you,
Walking Jesus.

They were self-absorbed

and did not recognize you,
Accompanying Jesus.

We keep talking about the past

and do not recognize you,
Living Jesus.

We keep looking back

and do not recognize you,
Walking Jesus.
We are self-absorbed
and do not recognize you,
Accompanying Jesus.

Forgive us, Renewing God,

for clinging so much to the past,

that we do not perceive your presence
in our daily lives.

Remind us, Emerging God,

that you live in the present
and peer out of each new bud
and surprise us in every bloom.

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“No lo reconocieron”

Una confesión para después de Resurrección basada en Lucas24:13-17

por Magdalena I. García

Iban hablando del pasado

y no te reconocieron,
Jesús Viviente.

Iban mirando hacia atrás

y no te reconocieron,
Jesús Caminante.

Iban ensimismados

y no te reconocieron,
Jesús Acompañante.

Seguimos hablando del pasado

y no te reconocemos,
Jesús Viviente.

Seguimos mirando hacia atrás

y no te reconocemos,
Jesús Caminante.

Vamos ensimismados

y no te reconocemos,
Jesús Acompañante.

Perdónanos, Dios Renovador,

por apegarnos tanto al pasado

que no nos percatamos de tu presencia
en nuestra vida cotidiana.

Recuérdanos, Dios Emergente,

que tú vives en el presente
y te asomas en cada botón
y nos sorprendes en cada floración.

­© Magdalena I. García

“In the wrong places” / “En los lugares equivocados”

Exhuberant, tropical malanga growing unexpectedly on the trunk of an apparently dead tree. Photo taken outside my aunt Miriam's house, in Miami. / Una exuberante malanga tropical crece en el tronco de un árbol aparentemente muerto. Foto tomada frente a casa de mi tía Miriam, en Miami. 

A post Easter reflection/confession based on Luke 24:28-31, NRSV 

²⁸As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.

By Magdalena I. García

Not in the temple,

but along the way.

Not in the distance,

but in the intimacy.

Not in the silence,

but in the conversation.

Not in the apathy,

but in the hospitality.

Not in the familiar,

but in the stranger.

Not in the extravagant,

but in the ordinary.

That’s how you still appear,

Living Christ,

Walking Companion,

Close Friend,

Listening Partner,

Caring Host,

Disquieting Presence,

Servant Master.

And so the question remains:

why do we go on

hiding in worship spaces,

perpetuating segregation,

avoiding engagement,

denying access to the table,

rejecting the foreigner,

and seeking the grandiose?

We keep looking for you,

Unstoppable Force,

in all the wrong places,

while you walk ahead

unrestrained by the tomb,

free from all bondage.

Release us,

Unlimited Lover,

from all the wrong places,

that we may also walk ahead

unrestrained by fear,

free from all prejudice.

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“En los lugares equivocados”

Una reflexión/confesión para después de Resurrección basada en Lucas 24:28-31, RVC 

²⁸ Cuando llegaron a la aldea adonde iban, Jesús hizo como que iba a seguir adelante, ²⁹ pero ellos lo obligaron a quedarse. Le dijeron: “Quédate con nosotros, porque ya es tarde, y es casi de noche”. Y Jesús entró y se quedó con ellos. ³⁰ Mientras estaba sentado a la mesa con ellos, tomó el pan y lo bendijo; luego lo partió y les dio a ellos. ³¹ En ese momento se les abrieron los ojos, y lo reconocieron; pero él desapareció de su vista.

Por Magdalena I. García

No en el templo,

sino en el camino.

No en la distancia,

sino en la intimidad.

No en el silencio,

sino en la conversación.

No en la apatía,

sino en la hospitalidad.

No en lo familiar,

sino en lo desconocido.

No en lo extravagante,

sino en lo ordinario.

Así es como todavía te apareces,

Cristo Vivo,

Compañero Ambulante,

Amigo Cercano,

Socio Oyente,

Anfitrión Atento,

Presencia Inquietante,

Maestro Sirviente.

De modo que cabe la pregunta:

¿por qué seguimos

escondiéndonos en los espacios de adoración,

perpetuando la segregación,

evitando el compromiso,

negando el acceso a la mesa,

rechazando al extranjero

y procurando la grandiosidad?

Te seguimos buscando,

Fuerza Imparable,

en los lugares equivocados,

mientras que tú avanzas,

irrestricto por la tumba,

libre de toda atadura.

Libéranos,

Amante Ilimitado,

de los lugares equivocados,

para que también podamos avanzar,

irrestrictos por el miedo,

libres de todo prejuicio.

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Do Presbyterians need Belhar?

Internet image that highlights the central themes 
of the Belhar Confession. 

Some thoughts on why we desperately need Belhar, which I shared at the Presbytery of Chicago assembly on April 18, 2015, as we opened the discussion before the vote. The motion in favor of including the Belhar Confession in the denomination's Book of Confessions (BOC) passed, but I was surprised that there was quite a bit of pushback. The opposition proved my points beautifully: many still don't feel the urge to work towards racial reconciliation, and they cling to absurd arguments like we don't need to include someone else's creed in our book but rather write our own (forgetting that 9 out of 11 confessional documents in the BOC come from other lands, albeit, mostly from Europe!).

By Magdalena I. García 

There is a part of me

that wonders if we need

the language of the Belhar Confession.

Isn’t it enough that we have
the Confession of 1967

and the Brief Statement of Faith
in our Book of Confessions?

But then I look around our church 
and I realize

that we need all the words we can get

to stress the importance 
of racial reconciliation.

We need all the help we can get

to transform 
this very monocultural denomination

into the rainbow that God created,

and to fully welcome 
the diversity that surrounds us

in our cities and nation.

So I welcome the Belhar Confession.

And I love the way in which it reminds us,

“that unity is both a gift and an obligation

for the church of Jesus Christ.”

By the way, the word “obligation”

is translated into Spanish as “labor”,

and this enriches our understanding of the task,

because working towards racial reconciliation

is indeed labor, painful labor, dry labor...

as in difficult, complicated, exhausting,

and risky childbirth!

And, secondly,

I love the way the Belhar Confession

comes to us as a gift from South Africa,

and invites us to listen

to believers in the Southern Hemisphere,

which now represents the demographic center

of the Christian church.

I hope and pray that the Belhar Confession

will allow us to move into listening mode,

welcoming the voices from the margins,

embracing those who have been left out,

and partnering with them

as our brothers and sisters in Christ.

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